My leak revisited....

[BAYLINER185]

Ok this is just a revist from my last post EXHAUST BELOWS LEAK

This afternoon after 3 days of rain here I went and checked out my boat to see how soaked it got. To my supprise the marine cover really is 100% water proof. The boat was bone dry and just as I left it a week ago. The exposed parts to the rain were all nice and clean. Got a nice free wash from mother nature lol.

So then my brother calls and tells me he wants to take his friend out on the lake, hes in town from NYC and he has an 86 Sea Ray dry docked and wanted to see my boat.

So we put mine in the water and put gas in it. I was looking aroud and checking my little probelm to see if I could get a better idea of where it may be leaking from since its so far behind the motor and so hard to pin point.

OK, so now I can actually hear it DRIP! F*(K !

Im watching the water come in ( dripping not like a hose ) and I can hear it DRIP....DRIP......DRIP...
SH#T! So its gotten worse since last time?

So now that I can see it and hear it and Im watching this happen it is defiently NOT the Y pipe as it looks like it is dripping in above it and the drip is running down on top of the Y pipe. I DONT see any water around the drive shaft or gymbal bearing. I was able to look way in there and see the bearing around the drive shaft. It didnt look rusty or wet so I think that was good but I cant see any water dripping in around the shaft at all.

SO, now what? Im planning to pull the drive in a week or so when I get a chance now. I would like to see if there is any water in the drive bellows that I cant see from this point. Im hoping there will be some left in the ribs then I know for sure thats the culprit. Other then that I guess it could be the shift boot. I think it may not be a bad idea to do a full bellows change so I at least I know they are new and good. I have no idea when they were done last, although they dont "seem" bad but I guess they can be.

Is there any way you can test a Bellows once its removed to see if it leaks? Im thinking somehow seal the ends and submerge it in a bucket and see if it bubbles air and fills with water. What do you think? is it even really worh doing?

I REALLY hope I dont have to put the boat in a shop and pull the motor. If I have to pay a machanic I will, I have no problem doing so but if I can avoid it I'd love that more

I can pull the drive and things like that I just dont have the tools or way or a place I can pull a 7.4 Liter motor. Thats a bit over my head.


Motor specs and Boat in question:

1993 BAYLINER 2755 Ciera Cruser
7.4 Liter 300HP Mercruser W/ Bravo One outdrive

 

[ziggy]

Re: My leak revisited....

if ya get to the point where ya got bellows in hand. i don't think i'd bother with testing them. however ya would test them. i am kinda in yer same boat. so to speak. a leak from somewhere.

I think it may not be a bad idea to do a full bellows change so I at least I know they are new and good. I have no idea when they were done last, although they dont "seem" bad but I guess they can be.

that's probably the ticket...... it's what i did anyways....now i know....

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: My leak revisited....

For what they cost replace them....
You need to get in there with a mirror & a flashlight to find the leak......
This may or may not require removing some seating .....
Can't you put your hand back there & feel it?.... ​

 

[BAYLINER185]

Re: My leak revisited....

Haut Medoc

Ive tried a few times to get my hand in there. I can barely put a finger on top of the Y pipe. I cant really get in there at all. Once I get my self all up on the engine and straddel over it my arms are not long enough to reach any further. I damn near have to do a hand stand down in the little gap behind the motor to just even get a look at the driping.

This leak is isn the absolutly worst place it could be and Im starting to think that why the previous owner never addressed it becuase he couldnt get in there to see it or even know about it. I found it because I got all bent out of shape so to speak when I hit my prop that I was expectign somthign to be damaged. Then I saw the leak and figured it happned when I hit the prop on the bottom.

I think Im just going to get new bellows and go from there. I donthink its much more then that. At lewast Im hoping.

 

[ziggy]

Re: My leak revisited....

I donthink its much more then that

i'm finding that 'that' can be more than enough........ it may lead ya to do more than just bellows....... i didn't even have a leak that was noticable from inside the boat......so far, above and beyond the bellows, mostly for having the rustys, i've done the shift shaft seal, shift shaft and shift shaft lever, shift cable, gimble brg, i'm in the middle of doing a ft. seal in the upper along with brgs. u-joints......... all from water intrusion into the bellows area........hope yer project goes better than mine has so far.......

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: My leak revisited....

Well, pulling the drive is where to start.....
Why can't the water be coming in on the bottom side of the input shaft?....​

 

[llerrad]

Re: My leak revisited....

Had merc. rig, could hear a drip could not see the drip or find it but had water in the bilge. Was shifter cable bellows. Mech. told me if I could hear it and not see it most likley shifter bellows, change it out and problem gone. Just another thought.

 

[flabum]

Re: My leak revisited....

There a a few places it could be comming in:

1) U-joint bellows. Although you eliminated that possibility, it could still be comming from there. Water will seek many routes and you can't see all of them

2) Shift cable bellows. This is lower and on the left side of the gimball housing just above the exhaust bellows. You can see where the cable enters the boat just above the Y-pipe and that is where you look for a drip. You will need a flashlight and small mirror.

3) Y-pipe or seal. The Y-pipe is bolted to the gimball housin and there is a rubber o-ring type seal there. Sometimes the housing and Y-pipe will corrode and cause a leak. Another thing that happens is if the exhaust flapper in the Y-pipe fall out for some reason (like overheating), the flapper pin will drop to the bottom of the Y-pipe and electrolosis will take over and "drill" the pin through the Y-pipe causing a hole at the bottom of the Y-pipe.

4) Steering pin seal where the pin comes through the gimball housing and attaches to the tiller arm. This is easy to see, just look under the tiller arm for wetness.

5) Water neck. The Bravo uses a screwy setup to pass cooling water through the gimball housing. Sometimes the gimabll housing will corrode where the water neck attaches. Somewhat easy to see with a mirror and flshlight.

6) This one you won't want to hear: a rotted transom. if the transom wood rots, the gimbal housing will nolonger have a water tight seal against the transom. Find a couple of the nuts inside the hull that secures the gimball housing to the hull and see if they need tightening. If you find them loose and they take more than 360 degrees to tighten them, your transom is likely rotted.

 

[BAYLINER185]

Re: My leak revisited....

Thanks for all the input and advise


I brought it to a really cooll maachanic last night and he pulled my drive and as I suspected due to DON S's persistance to keep looking and looking an dont give up.

He found it is indeed the TARNSOM SEAL

So the motor is going to be pulled as with the drive. We opted to use the same belows's as the machanic and I agree they all look good and apear to be just fine. Not add to the work load right now by having to pull the bell housing we're going to leave that whole assembly in one piece. While the drive is pulled I am having him change the lower shift cable as a preventive maintanace procedure as it seems original and a smart thing to change while the drive is pulled at this time.

If I need to change the bellows's in a few months or do find they leak, I know that they dont now, I will do that myself as Ive done that before on an alpha one and can do it on my bravo one.

The machanic tells me the transom seal is for a lack of a better term, foam like in nature. Much like a "floaty" used in a pool andn its squeezed into place basicly when the transom sheild is tightend on. I know Ill feel safer with a new one and not to worry for a while once its done.

 

[flabum]

Re: My leak revisited....

That seal generally doesn't go bad unless the transom went soft there. Check the transom for rotted wood.

Also, that seal is a pretty thick, firm closed cell faom. Not a cheap "floaty type of thing"

 

[BAYLINER185]

Re: My leak revisited....

Also, that seal is a pretty thick, firm closed cell faom. Not a cheap "floaty type of thing"
------------------------------------------------QUOTE-------------------

Well, I know that. I needed a way to basicly explain what its kind of made of that everyone knows and has seen.

NO ROT, not soft, caught this leak in time before it did any structrual damage to the boat. My machanaic was very proud of me for that as he says people usually dont catch this and it goes on until its too late for just a new seal.


My boat used to be stored outside in a climate that would go from mid 70's during the day to freezing at night and I have a feeling this contributed to the seal going bad. I think it problably froze and cracked as the previouse owner told me it got to freezing temps early last year. I bet thats what happned.
I have to Thank Don S for the advise on my last post to keep looking and he stressed the fact that this IS NOT NORMAL and the boat should NOT take on any water from where I see it dripping. His words were in my mind every time I went out and had a look for the leak.

Well, we found it.

I also appreciate everyones input as to how to address such a leak and what I could be doing. This is a great resourse for us boaters with some experaince to talk to people with more experiance and really help solve some problems.

I can say 1st hand that this place has helped me get the correct info to my machanic and help him save time by knowing what, where and how I came accross this problem. He actually told me that my input helped him locate and verify that I had a transom seal go bad.

So again THANKS I BOATS and MEMBERS!

Ive been on other such forums where theres a lot of wasted time spent on posting but I dont see that on here...Lots of great info and helpfull people!